Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School is a welcoming and inclusive school where pupils are polite, kind and behave well. Pupils benefit from a strong personal development offer and effective reading and phonics support, and they achieve well in national assessments. Safeguarding arrangements are effective overall, although some procedures and training need to be sharper and more consistent. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic; it had previously been exempt after an outstanding judgement and is now inspected without an overall effectiveness grade. The main concerns are leadership and early years provision. Leaders do not have sufficient oversight of the impact of some of their work, governors are not well enough informed to challenge and support effectively, and communication with stakeholders has left some parents and staff dissatisfied. In the early years, some activities and adult interactions do not match the intended learning or develop children’s vocabulary well enough, so some children are less ready for Year 1 than they could be. There are also minor weaknesses in safeguarding processes that could mean required checks or actions are missed.

Strengths

• Welcoming and inclusive school community
• Pupils are polite, kind and respectful of differences
• Positive behaviour around school with no learning time lost
• Strong personal development programme, including careers, trips, British values and debating
• Effective phonics and reading support from pre-school onwards
• Pupils with SEND access the same curriculum and needs are identified with specialist support
• Curriculum in subjects such as mathematics and science is sequenced to build knowledge over time
• Pupils achieve well in national assessments
• Wide range of clubs, responsibilities and wider opportunities
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective and pupils are well cared for

Areas for Improvement

• Leadership and management require improvement
• Early years activities and adult interactions do not consistently match intended learning or develop vocabulary
• School lacks sufficient oversight of the impact of some aspects of its work, especially in early years
• Governors do not understand the school’s work well enough to challenge and support leaders
• Communication with stakeholders has been ineffective, leaving some parents and staff dissatisfied
• Some safeguarding systems, policies, training and checks are not fully up to date or consistently followed
• Some children are not as ready for Year 1 as they could be
• Inconsistency in early years approach means some pupils’ errors are not picked up quickly enough

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School attended 95.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 6.0% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 1.3% of pupils at Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School had 23.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 22.2% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.7% of pupils at Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 3.1% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School received £7,409 and spent £7,429 for each of its 224 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £100,000 (£445 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Rugby · Warwickshire local authority: places and applications

What is Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School is Requires Improvement, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School have?

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School has 224 pupils on roll.

What age range does Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School cover?

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 59% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School?

Clifton-upon-Dunsmore CofE Primary School is at Station Road, Clifton-upon-Dunsmore, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 0BT.